Latest News

Keep an eye on our news page where we will update you on developments here at Pureprint including new technology and services, awards and much more. See the bottom of the page for our news archive for historic stories we have covered.

Pureprint People: Aaron Archer

5th September 2016

Aaron Archer is Business Development Director for the Digital side of Pureprint. He is Chairman of Dscoop UK & Ireland and a frequent speaker at industry events. DScoop is short for Digital Solutions Cooperative, and is an independent community of HP Graphic Arts business owners and technical professionals from around the world. This summer Aaron, along with other Dscoop colleagues ran the first Dscoop local event for the UK & Ireland.

How did your first Dscoop local event go on the 4th July?

It was a really successful day with a great turnout and the venue, Dorney Lake in Windsor worked really well which was helped by the stunning weather. The speakers were really informative and covered some of the hot topics for Digital printing in 2016 and it was a great chance for members to catch up with partners and industry colleagues socially.

For anyone who isn’t already a member of Dscoop, why should they join?

Dscoop offer a range of benefits to a business utilising digital printing equipment. These include education materials, marketing tools, online discussion forums, a print directory and an annual conference.

How does membership of Dscoop benefit Pureprint?

Along with all the benefits above, Pureprint enjoys a close working relationship with Dscoop members in the UK and across the World, for collaborative working with clients.

What were your highlights from Dscoop EMEA5, in Tel Aviv?

The conference and education sessions were world class, along with an amazing partner and HP equipment showcasing a broad range of integrated solutions and innovations.

Do you have any (digital) trends we should be looking out that came out of Drupa 2016?

Cloud based computing is now coming of age, giving opportunities for new sales channels, along with operational excellence through automated print production.

What’s the most exciting innovation in digital printing you see on the horizon?

Innovations come from technology and its application in new ways….. So I’m always excited to combine a whole raft of different components that can be disruptive in established markets. Print being the centre piece is again being recognised as a respected and powerful channel in the marketing mix.

What’s your favourite recent project, printed on HP Indigo?

Really enjoy the children’s book market, which is now being disrupted with new vertically integrated publishers, creating personalised stories to excite and engage children, through wonderfully printed books.

Pureprint People: Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole joined Pureprint inFeb 2016. She started out as a digital apprentice but soon proved herself as an integral part of the team and offered the opportunity of Digital Production Assistant.

You started out as an apprentice, what attracted you to an apprenticeship in print? What did you hope to get out of it?

I was looking for a completely new start in something that I was interested in, and that I would be able to build a career in. An apprenticeship in print fitted what I was looking for, and I guess everything happened at the right time. I hoped to learn and I’m certainly doing that.

Talk us through your average day – if there is such a thing….

I work as part of the digital production team and honestly every day is different depending on the work that comes in.. The first thing I normally do is take a look at our technology workflow portal which we use for a lot of our SLA (service level agreement) work, I work out where we are for the day and deal with any reprints we need. I then continue to do this throughout the day.

I deal with putting jobs onto press, checking the files and making sure everything is ready to print and finish so it can all run smoothly through all areas. This can include liaising with account managers, finding paper, checking files, and generally trying to be helpful where I can be. Because I started in finishing, one way I can help is to support the finishing team, being an extra pair of hands where needed to make it a little easier for them, and trying to ensure work goes out on time.

Has anything surprised you about the role so far? Apart from being offered the Digital Production Assistant role soon after starting your apprenticeship!

That was definitely unexpected, but really what I think surprises me most is the sheer volume and variety of work that comes through digital production, and that we actually get it done! I don’t think I ever realised just how much is involved in print or possibly how much I would enjoy it.

What sort of skills have you been learning?

I started in finishing so I’ve learnt the basics of the equipment out there andhow different types of print are finished. I’ve then moved to the production side of working, which is more computer based but I’ve learnt all about how jobs are created and put on press, taken through the printing and finishing stages to the final product.

What are the most (and least) enjoyable parts of your job?

I love the accomplishment of getting a job done and out on time, and especially getting feedback that a client is really happy with the product. I guess the least enjoyable is the opposite of this, sometimes things do go wrong, and that is inevitable, - it’s certainly not enjoyable.

Does print still feel like a male dominated industry to you? Is it more challenging being a woman?

I think its fact that it’s still male dominated, you can’t really argue against that, but saying that I’ve not felt in any way that being female has made a difference to my experience within the company. Male or female coming into an industry you know little about is a daunting task and everyone has been incredibly supportive - I’d like to think that gender doesn’t come into that.

What would you most like to print?

Part of me loves the complicated jobs that come in, - which are often a complete pain to print and finish but I love the finished article. I like creative things with different substrates and colours. I studied design so I think it’s that side of me that is interested in the way something like that looks aesthetically and comes together.

What do you think the future of print has in store?

With the way technology rapidly develops it’s so hard to say. It’s clear from the volumes of work that come in print is still incredibly relevant. Technology enables us to push the boundaries and that surely means there can only be more work and even more developments.

Where will we find you in 5 years?

I have no idea! Even a year ago I would never have imagined myself here, so in 5 years who knows. I’m learning so much here that I’d like to think I’d still be here, hopefully asking a few less questions.

If other young people are looking for an exciting career in print, get in touch.

Pureprint leading the way with big litho and digital investment

25th July 2016

Wehave recently completed a £5million upgrade of our litho printing facilities in Uckfield and are due to complete work on our dedicated digital printing factory in the next few weeks. We have upgraded our manufacturing and customer service platforms in terms of equipment, workflow and physical environment.

Pureprint Group CEO Mark Handford commented “We are delighted with the new facilities and equipment. It puts us in the best possible position to give our customers an exceptional printing service. The impressive litho factory, with large press hall, plate making, colour labs and customer rooms means that we have excellent press passing facilities and for some customers who stay with us for a couple of days that means all difference. Over the coming months we will be welcoming many visitors to the site so they can see what we have to offer and the changes that have been made.”

The Group now has a new 80,000 square foot dedicated litho factory with 4 Heidelberg XL presses and a dedicated digital factory with HP Indigo printing technology. Each of these operations has experienced customer service teams and great customer facilities as part of the impressive re-organisation and investment for the Group.

Two new XL 106 litho machines, a 6 colour plus coat and a 4 colour plus coat, have joined a 10 colour and 5 colour with coater. Both the new machines are equipped with the highest specifications, including the industry leading inline colour measurement Inpress Control 2 and full Autoplate systems, to guarantee the highest quality and maximum operational throughput.

The 30,000 square foot dedicated digital operation houses the existing 3 HP Indigo 7800 presses and 2 HP Indigo 10000 digital presses and these will be joined by a new HP Indigo 12000 press at the end of July.

These latest investments mean that we now offer one of the most modern and efficient print production facilities in the UK. The HP Indigo 12000 digital press installation is part of HP’s global beta testing programme for the 12000 and will be one of only 6 in Europe and 12 globally until the beta testing finishes. Once completed our two existing HP Indigo 10000s will be upgraded to 12000s.

Forest Guardian: Q&A with WWF’s Julia Young

12th July 2016

Julia Young is the manager of the UK arm of the Global Forest & Trade Newtork (GFTN), the WWF’s ongoing initiative dedicated to helping businesses adjust their supply-chain strategies to protect and preserve the world’s forest resources. That, of course, means she spends a lot of time thinking about paper. After she visited Pureprint HQ to talk about the role of the print industry in ensuring sustainability, we caught up with her to find out whether awareness campaigns work and how optimistic she was about the future of paper in the UK…

The print and paper industries didn’t historically have the best reputation for sustainability, how valuable do you think campaigns such as Two Sides are in changing people’s preconceptions?

I think if campaigns don’t get too defensive, and they communicate precise and verifiable information, they are very valuable in showing how a sustainable industry can be beneficial to people and nature. WWF has extensive campaign experience in this area – including our Forest Campaign. People need to think about what kind of paper they use; is it sustainable, and are they wasting paper or not? These are the key issues for a paper-industry campaign to address. There have been things to improve – so it’s no good pretending there haven’t, or that the whole industry is doing better. The trick is to enable the public to understand the issues and make a better decision – using accurate information. Going forward, the Two Sides campaign can help people to think about the forest source of their paper – and why choosing papers that are recycled and from credibly certified forest sources, like FSC, is the way to make sure that paper use is positive in terms of sustainability.

You visited Pureprint in Uckfield earlier in the year, what was the highlight of your visit?

For me, it was exploring how commitment to innovation, and new, more efficient solutions, can get the job people want done, but in a sustainable way. Pureprint are great at that. We wanted to see what could be done with print and print management, get a feel for where things are at – after all, it’s by keeping in touch and finding out what can done and is being tried out that you get new ideas of what is possible, so from that perspective, it was a great visit for our team, with people from many different kinds of roles, like managing what we send out to our supporters, and designing our materials so they look great but are effective when it comes to paper use and cutting waste on print runs.

We know the business community can play a vital role in ensuring forest resources are well managed. Sustainable forest management can help address some of the most severe problems affecting forests, such as deforestation. WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) can help by translating what is happening on the ground in global forests into how businesses can make better decisions in their sourcing. We work to improve the management of global production forests by using the influence and purchasing power of UK businesses to bring about market change. Our goal is to create a thriving, mainstream market for environmentally and socially responsible forest products. Businesses participating in GFTN commit to looking at their supply chains and progressively moving to better sources which support forests. They are transparent about their policies and performance – which is what we encourage all businesses with a material footprint on forest resources to be doing.

In the time you’ve been with WWF, what changes have you seen in the print and paper industries?

There has obviously been a huge focus on understanding and developing carbon accounting – understanding the life-cycle impacts of paper from forest to end of life – as well as a good move towards how paper can be used to add maximum value. This is all very positive – and those businesses that have invested meaningfully in this should be proud of that work – then differentiate themselves more from others who aren’t following the same, better practices.

What else would you like to see the print and paper industries doing to help safeguard and improve the environment?

I think there is a steady realisation on the importance of sustainable forest management in the first place – although I would like to see more advocacy for the increased use of recycled fibre, to make recycled paper more accessible – as this has a major role to play in tackling the pressures on global forest resources, and meeting growing future demand for fibre for paper worldwide. There are probably a lot of paper people who would like to see more recycled paper taken up too!

What are you and WWF working towards in 2016, and beyond?

We’re carrying on our Forest Campaign – to try to make sure that we have a comprehensive and properly implemented European Timber Regulation, and asking businesses that trade forest products in some shape or form – like paper – to be transparent about their policies on sustainable sourcing, and how well they are doing in meeting them. WWF has a really wide spectrum of work on forests, from helping producers understand and get into sustainable forest management, right the way through to things like our Environmental Paper Company Index work, to appraise environmental performance for pulp and paper production. Then of course there is work on climate, oceans, freshwater, the illegal wildlife trade – and many other subjects, in more than 100 countries. You can find out more on the breadth of our work at www.panda.org. Personally, I will be working to keep our GFTN programme relevant and impactful, engaging with industry associations on the forest agenda, and releasing work on the business case for sustainable sourcing, before preparing for next year’s Timber Scorecard check-in on UK companies and sustainable sourcing of forest goods.

Do you have a favourite paper stock, recycled or otherwise?

Number one has to be recycled paper. WWF is a signatory to the Environmental Paper Network Paper Vision, and our sourcing policy puts recycled paper as first choice. Personally, I love looking for beautiful notebooks but am often disappointed to find ones I like then don’t carry any credentials as coming from recycled paper sources, or from a mix of recycled and or FSC sources – I simply can’t overlook it, no matter how good-looking it is!

Are you optimistic for the future of a sustainable paper industry?

Yes, I am. Fundamentally, the paper industry has to invest in sustainability for its own future. If there is increasing demand for fibre, but increasing pressure on global forests, how will this demand be met? Customers also increasingly want to know that the goods they buy haven’t damaged the environment or other people’s livelihoods – let alone the increasing tension over environmental degradation, and failure to share the benefits from resources, in producer countries. There have been a lot of positive developments – I only see this as continuing, and those who can’t demonstrate good sustainability will eventually be excluded by the market. Sooner, I hope, rather than later.

Beautiful books win awards

30th June 2016

What a good year at the Print, Design and Marketing Awards this year with 3 stunning projects Dior by Avedon, Garry Fabian Miller’s Bliss and Waterloo 1815 - A Commemorative Anthology winning 4 categories.

Dior by Avedon won the Finishing category with its beautiful French folding, specialist Japanese Takeo papers and with a flexi bound and silver foiled cover. The judges commented “Simplicity at its best, using high quality print finish and fantastic binding technique. This winner showcases the product in a very smart and stylish way”. Garry Fabian Miller’s Bliss won the Books and Booklet category, digitally printed on an HP Indigo press with layflat binding and an exposed spine made this book a stunning production. The judges commented “Visually stunning. Very simple but effective use of techniques. Consistent use of colours, very well presented.”

Waterloo 1815 - A Commemorative Anthology won the Short Run Printing category but also what an accolade for it to win the Supreme Award too. Again digitally printed on an HP Indigo 10000 press with full size maps, gilt edged, bound in leather and enclosed in a wooden box. The judges commented “A unique item of print that would not be out of place in a museum. High end print, finishing, binding and packing, a product that is a truly stunning piece of high end art.” And “An all encompassing showcase for print - a showstopper. A unique, one off in its own class. A rare and beautiful product.”

Earlier in the year another fabulous book we have printed won a DRUM Design Award for Print Design. Baddeley Brothers is for anyone with a serious interest in print, design, publishing and typography, and tells the story of this printer over the last four centuries. The book was litho printed on Munken Polar Smooth from G F Smith and covered with a Duck Egg Brillianta Cloth from Winters and has fine tipped-in samples

Bliss to the Judges at the HP Inkspiration Awards

16th May 2016

In April the second HP Inkspiration Awards were held in Tel Aviv following the opening of the Dscoop Open Conference and Pureprint were awarded the People’s Choice Award for Artistic Value for Bliss by Garry Fabian Miller a limited edition fine art publication produced for Hackelbury Press.

The HP Inkspiration Awards program was created to recognise excellence in the use of the innovative HP Indigo printing technology and this year it generated 250 entries spanning the USA, Asia and Europe in just five weeks.

The judges loved the Bliss publication with one of the judges commenting “I could not take my eyes away from the piece. It is attractive, vivid …a piece of art to admire”.

Bliss is the culmination of almost 40 years of dye-destruction printing by Garry Fabian Miller. This richly illustrated book features over 50 unique dye-destruction prints – an art form that will cease to exist by 2016. In fact, each of the 600 copies includes a signed and numbered Lambda c-print, chosen from a selection of 49 different 20” x 24” images. The 164 pages of Bliss were digitally printed on our HP Indigo 10000 digital presses on Munken Lynx paper and feature layflat binding and exposed spine.

We were also finalists in Direct Mail, Catalogue and Publishing categories.

The magCultured man: Jeremy Leslie

1st March 2016

If you were looking for an authority on the state of the magazine industry, a recommendation for eye-opening reading material, advice on art direction or just a nice chat with a smart man, you wouldn’t have to look further than Jeremy Leslie. Over the course of his three-decade career, Jeremy has gone from being one of the most sought-after art directors in the UK to the champion of independent magazine culture across Europe, and one of the biggest players in the print renaissance.

Through magCulture, the blog, journal, editorial design consultancy and now real-world shop, Jeremy is behind some of the most exciting publications on today’s shelves – some of them printed by Pureprint. We caught up with him for a coffee…

How long have you been interested in magazines?

Since I discovered the NME as a teenager. It was my weekly update on albums, gigs, bands – a vital part of the week. It was the content not the design at that stage. Later on David Kings’s City Limits front covers sucked me into the design side too.

How did you originally get into the world of the print?

I studied graphic design and was busy printing from Foundation Course onwards. I stumbled into my first magazine job when I left university and got some summer cover work in the studio at City Limits magazine in the mid-80s From there I got the job of designer at Blitz magazine.

You’re the Creative Director of Fiera magazine – how do you find working with Katie Treggiden – and why Fiera when you must have many opportunities to work in new magazines?

Katie and I work well together. We both have multiple roles/jobs beyond the magazine and have learned from each other. Why Fiera? I was intrigued by Katie’s desire to move from blog to print.

What can we expect from the next instalment?

The magazine hasn’t fundamentally changed since launch, but it improves each issue and I hope to shift things on a little further for no4.

I’ve always thought London deserved a dedicated magazine shop. Just mags, displayed properly – you see this in other big cities but not in the UK. I realised early in 2015 that if I didn’t do it someone would and I’d be disappointed. So I decided to give it a go.

It was hard finding the right location, but I’m happy with the final choice. We’re in the heart of London’s traditional print district, a few hundred yards from where the first magazine was published. Near lots of design and architects’ studios, next to a university full of journalism students. And in the centre of a triangle created by Angel, Old Street and Farringdon Tube stations.

How do you think the tangible quality of print influences the reading experience?

Reading from paper and screen are entirely different experiences. Paper is more flexible, variable and engages multiple senses in a way the glossy screen can’t. Think: smell, noise, different touch sensations. And just as importantly, bound paper is the perfect navigation system – you can easily find your way around, understand how deep into a magazine or book you are and can backtrack to check things. When you go back things haven’t shifted or re-flowed. You lose yourself in paper in a way you don’t in the screen – it lacks interruption from third parties.

You stock magazines printed by Pureprint at the MagCulture shop. If you could only read one, what would it be?

I’d select People of Print’s Print isn’t Dead as a beautiful piece of print about print.

We’ve seen big changes in the world of publishing over the past few years, what’s on the horizon in 2016 and beyond?

No idea! But the big changes aren’t going to slow down.

Find out about some of the issues of Print Isn't Dead that Pureprint have printed

Marcroy Smith: Person of Print

9th February 2016

Reports of print’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That, in essence, is the founding belief of People of Print, the website and London creative community set up by Marcroy Smith in 2008. Dedicated to championing printmaking in all its forms, People of Print – and its self-published magazine Print Isn’t Dead – exists to celebrate the artists, illustrators and designers bringing new life to an old industry, and to help brands and businesses harness the possibilities of print to inspire and excite.

We grabbed five minutes with Marcroy to talk about the state of the print sector, the kind of creatives he likes to work with and People of Print’s plans for the year ahead…

The future of print is dependent on so many factors; do you think the current revival is a flash in the pan or here to stay?

Nothing is permanent, however I don’t think that the revival that we’re seeing is a flash in the pan. There are lots of exciting things happening in the vast and varied world of print. It’s actually quite insane what we can achieve these days, superbly high quality digital printing thanks to HP Indigo technology, mind-blowing things are happening in 3D printing and we are also developing new ways of using traditional printing equipment.

Your magazine Print Isn’t Dead was Kickstarter funded, do you think crowdfunding has played a part in revitalising the print/magazine sector?

I definitely think that crowdfunding has played a huge role in revitalising many sectors, or at least allowing the small guy to achieve something big without taking out a huge loan. It allows the general community to decide what happens rather than a well-established publishing house and as Felix Dennis would have said… we like to “swim with the fishes.”

Element003 had a personalised cover, from all the ones ordered, could you pick a favourite?

We had a few questionable entries because we didn’t censor anything, I bet you can guess what kind of words some people chose to have on their mags. I particularly liked Andrew Losowsky’s entry “THE INTERNET IS DEAD.”

People of Print’s Department Store stocks products from established and up-and-coming designers, how important is it to you to support creatives rising through the ranks?

We like to do what we can for the print community, we generally like to talk about anyone who is showing exceptional skills, effort and enthusiasm for design, illustration, print or printmaking. Our Graduate Print Awards have some incredible entries and the winners get tonnes of amazing awards that are beneficial to them — it is free to enter too.

The new book by Silas Amos ‘A Bigger Spectrum’, supported by HP and GFSmith is absolutely stunning — designed by none other than award-winning James Lunn. He just has an extraordinary eye for editorial layout and beyond.

If you could work with any creative on the planet, who would it be and why?

I have a huge list of creatives that I would like to work with who I am slowly ticking off month by month. I also like finding hidden gems, people who are under the radar creating outstanding work, people who have a love for a subject so deep, who think about it every day; there’s something special and magical about these obsessional, extremely talented types.

What’s coming up for People of Print in 2016?

We have some exciting things coming up for 2016, our website and online marketplace is being developed as we speak. We will also be running more live events, workshops and talks. Oh and some stuff that we don’t want to mention in case we jinx it.

Pureprint Recruit Apprentices in their Digital Printing Department

5th February 2016

We are offering more apprenticeships in our digital printing department as the Group grows. Zack Sutherland, 19 joined the Group in September 2015 on a BPIF level 2 NVQ Apprenticeship in Digital Printing, Digital Pre-Press and Digital Artwork and recruitment is continuing for other enthusiastic apprentices to join our expanding business.

Ian Godden, Digital Production Director commented “Zack has taken well to the digital printing department starting in finishing where he has worked alongside our experienced operators on our new case binding machinery and on our digital despatch desk. He has had the advantage of working in a very busy department particularly on personalised books with the run up to Christmas 2015. Zack will start working in the digital print area in the coming months. After the training and obtaining his level 2 NVQ, which takes about 18 months, he will then have the opportunity to go to the HP Indigo training academy in Barcelona.”

Zack said “I’m enjoying being part of the Pureprint digital team where there is a great atmosphere. I’m looking forward to learning how to operate the digital presses and attending the BPIF technical training in London as well as meeting other apprentices.”

Two young people have already progressed through the Pureprint digital printing apprenticeship scheme with Dean and Josh Tapp completing their NVQs. Dean is now fully HP trained and running a 7800 at Pureprint and Josh has moved onto operating an HP Indigo 10000 press in New Zealand, showing how an apprenticeship and working for a company like Pureprint can open doors.

Anthony Thirlby, Chief Operating Officer commented “The combination of technology, innovation, creativity and enterprise make the printing industry of today an exciting career opportunity for young, talented people. We will be extending our apprenticeship programme over the next few years and we see this as crucial to Pureprint’s future.”

Andrew Bracey Foundation & Advanced Apprenticeship Manager at the BPIF commented “It is fantastic to see Pureprint expanding their apprenticeship offering as their business grows. Apprenticeships provide an excellent opportunity for young people to grow and develop within a work environment and offer businesses the chance to access new talent. We look forward to working with Pureprint again and helping develop the next generation of their workforce.”

Ian commented “The BPIF have been a great support in the recruitment of apprentices and they provide a good opportunity for the apprentice to meet other apprentices in the industry. As an employer we get highly motivated and skilled staff and the training provided in customer service and industry best practice is second to none.”

Pureprint Continues UK Regional Growth

25th January 2016

We have opened up a new sales office in Swindon. The new office currently has seven staff including the existing team who have operated for the last year from the Bristol office and four new starters who have joined from ESP Colour.

The new starters are Jenny Eagle, Cheryl Corbett, Wayne Giles and David Bulfield who bring a blend of commercial specialism, technology insight and customer service excellence that will further increase the product offering for our growing client base.

Coming from a strong consultative sales and technology background the team are enthusiastic to be working with the diverse offering from Pureprint Group and join as part of the Group’s focus on enhancing the client experience and service offering.

In conjunction with the successful Frome and Leeds offices, the three regional sales offices will deliver over £7m of business for us in 2016.

The new office is next to Junction 16 of the M4 and there are plans to increase staff numbers as the business grows in the commercial and technology space.

“Our regional offices are working well and the Swindon office will be the biggest so far. Regardless of how automated work flows are, the relationships we have with our customers need to be personal and consultative and our regional offices are helping us to deliver this across the UK.” commented Anthony Thirlby, Chief Operations Officer at Pureprint Group.

Book Awards Success

3rd December 2015

On Thursday 26th November the 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards were held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge. Work printed by Pureprint included 9 shortlisted entries across 7 different books including 3 of the books shortlisted in the Best British Book category. Great news following our success winning the PrintWeek 2015 Book Printer of the Year Award in October.

The other shortlistings included Battle of Waterloo for Best British Book, Limited Edition & Fine Binding and Digitally Printed Book, Lloyd’s Bank Book – Best British Book, Le Theatre Graphique by Hurtwood for Digitally Printed Book and The Dashboard Volume 1 by Hurtwood also for Digitally Printed Book.

How Lost My Name found their muse - an interview with David-Cadji Newby

30th November 2015

The advent of digital printing and the opportunities it brings publishers for small-batch, rapid-turnover production and personalisation have opened a lot of doors. They’ve even helped one Pureprint client oust the seemingly immovable Julia Donaldson from the top spot on the kid’s picture-book bestseller charts.

Personalised kids books have been around for years, but The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost Their Name is the first to have offer children a story that is truly personalised to them – an adventure determined entirely by the letters of their own name. The four founders of Lost my Name never expected their why-not? side project to seize so many imaginations – first the fire-breathers on Dragon’s Den (where a chunk of the funding came from) and then tens of thousands of kids all over Europe. Their second book, this time driven by satellite-mapping technology, is out now.

We caught up with co-founder and author David Cadji-Newby to talk about the role played by digital-print innovation, the challenges of overnight success, and what it feels like to have your work sent into space…

What was the inspiration behind Lost My Name?

It all started as a fun thing to do – Asi [Sharabi – cofounder and CEO] had been given a personalised book for his daughter, and was underwhelmed by it. Coming from a technology and creative background, we all recognised that here was an interesting area that was being hugely underexploited. A proper, well-conceived, beautifully written and illustrated personalised book just didn’t exist on the market – it was dominated by tacky, inferior products. So we decided to do something about it.

Was there a particular point when you realised it was going to be a hit?

Yes, Christmas 2013. In November we went from selling 40 a day to near a thousand. It was a surprise, and also a huge challenge – needing to scale so much, so fast, was incredibly hard to manage. People were buying our book as Christmas presents and we desperately didn’t want to let them down, but the pace of growth was extraordinary, and fulfilling orders was… tricky.

What are the advances in technology that make it possible?

Digital print is the innovation that made it all possible. But along the way, we encountered many more challenges in making customers happy. Digital print has allowed us to supply our print partners with unique graphics files, each corresponding to a specific order. Digital printing machines means there are no up-front costs for printing an order per customer (as opposed to litho printing), however, the complexity then moves to fulfilment process. How do you know which printed book would then find itself in a specific customer's’ mailbox?

Did any of you have any experience of large-scale print projects before Lost My Name?

No. Fortunately we’re quick learners. We’ve invested heavily in data systems that enable us to connect with our print partners and provide them with information about orders so they can use their digital print at the scale we needed to provide. .

What were the paper and print requirements for the project?

First of all we know that lots (like, hundreds of thousands) of little hands will be enjoying our books. This means lots of pulling, tugging, turning all of the pages, maybe a bit of chewing… So we want to use a paper that’s going to last. The Mohawk paper (from GFSmith) that we use is thicker and more durable than the paper you’ll find in most children’s books – and that’s important to us, as we want to create books that will be enjoyed for many years no matter how many times they are read (or pulled, or tugged).

How does the process of printing work for customised books?

At the end of the day, making unique books for unique customers is a totally different business model than producing in bulk. It has many complexities, some that are easy to solve, and some that are super-hard problems (to make it work at scale). We’re proud to be making our books in many local geographical areas, as close to our customers as possible, providing work in local counties and supporting the print industry to make it all work. We feel it’s an important value to keep as we expand.

Was it hard following up ‘The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name’? Or did you know straight away what you wanted to do with The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home?

It’s always hard to follow a smash hit, so the important thing was to create something that we wanted to make, without having too many expectations. Using more technology – satellite mapping, for example – reflected our company mission to combine storytelling and tech, so it just felt right. And it seems to be going well, so far…

Is it true that your books are going into space? How did that come about?

Cape Canaveral on 3 December, bound for the International Space Station (ISS), where it’s going to be read by an astronaut.

We came across an organisation called Story Time From Space, and their exciting programme, which uses the

ISS and other space platforms to promote and improve STEM-focused educational activities aimed toward schools, science centres and home education.

Getting children to see that anything is possible is one of the most important things in the whole world and what we're all about as a company. We were hugely excited and humbled when they chose our book to be a part of their next launch.

What’s next in the pipeline?

We’ve had huge success with our first two titles. The Little Boy/Girl who lost Their Name was the best-selling children’s picture book in the UK last year), and the reception to Journey Home has blown us away.

But we’re just getting started. We see our super-high-quality personalised books as an entirely new type of narrative product. They’re like books. But they’re also like games. And episodic media. And software. And they’re co-created. And co-consumed. It’s fascinating, and we’ve only just scratched the surface. We’re now looking for brilliant writers and illustrators, with experience of children’s entertainment projects, to join our Story Studio and help develop our next round of incredibly personalised children’s books.

Pureprint increases printing capacity with multi million pound spend

30th November 2015

We placed a multi-million pound order for two new Heidelberg 106 XLs as part of a major 2016 investment programme. The two machines are a 6 colour plus coat and a 4 colour plus coat. Both machines will be equipped with the highest specifications, including the industry leading inline colour measurement device Inpress Control 2 and full Autoplate systems, to guarantee the highest quality and maximum operational throughput.

The new machines will be going into the our main production site in East Sussex in the first half of 2016. They will support our continued growth in the bespoke printing market and will also integrate fully with the new operational workflows now deployed at Pureprint in the litho commercial markets. This unique Purity JDF platform has been developed to give greater operational effectiveness and market leading products.

The investments also form an important part of Pureprint’s EMAS and ISO14001 programme of sustainability initiatives and will ensure that we continues year on year environmental improvements. It is expected that in Year 1 paper waste will be reduced by at least a further 20% due to the enhanced make-ready performance provided by Inpress Control 2. The 4 colour and coat press will also feature a market first with sequential blanket wash and Autoplate systems, allowing super-fast make-readies and job changes.

We are also planning to produce reduced run lengths through the Speedmaster XL 106 platform. Anthony Thirlby, Pureprint Group chief operating officer commented “The cost cross over point between digital and litho will come down to 200 sheets and the move to the fully automated XL106’s will increase our sheet fed capacity by over 35%. Our HP Indigo platform is superb for high quality personalised products and together with the new Heidelberg XL combination we will continue to offer the most modern and efficient bespoke printing facility in the UK.”

Pureprint are DMA Awards Print Partner for the 2nd Year

27th November 2015

After great success working with the DMA over the last couple of years we are now supporting the DMA Awards as Print Partner for a second year.

The DMA Awards brings the marketing industry together to collectively celebrate and reward the best thinking, innovation and results in the business and to promote the huge economic contribution that the marketing and creative skills of DMA members provides.

The awards bring together 350 leading agencies, brands and expert suppliers for a rigorous judging process looking at strategy, creativity and results to encourage the evolution of one-to-one marketing and to create benchmarks for excellence.

On Tuesday 1 December 2015 at the Awards ceremony in Old Billingsgate, London the best direct marketing creative excellence will be recognised across 34 categories from Best Use of Direct Mail to Best Use of Technology.

We have printed all the awards night collateral from tickets to table numbers and managed two DM campaigns for the run up to the awards which had great feedback including this comment on twitter:

Eye for Design: 10 Questions with Simon Esterson

19th November 2015

Having left his mark on such storied titles as Blueprint, Domus and The Guardian, Esterson is now Creative Director of the international design quarterly, Eye, which he has co-owned since 2008. From its offices in Dalston (via the printers of Pureprint), Eye showcases and explores the world of graphic design and visual culture – and, thanks to Esterson completely refreshing the look and typeface every issue, never looks less than stunning. We caught up with him for a quick chat about publishing, printing and the future of the magazine industry…

How long does it take to get an issue of Eye together? What’s the process?John (the editor) and I are collecting stories, looking at things and talking to people all the time. Some stories take a year or more for our external contributors to research and write. Towards the end there's a month or so detailed process of editing, design and repro when we actually make an issue.Is there such a thing as ‘designer’s block’?Yes. I solve it by going for a walk with the dog. He has the best ideas.You’ve had a long and illustrious career in magazines – has the relationship between designers and printers changed since you started out?No, I think there have always been some printers who want to work with designers and designers who like to be more involved in the printing process. For me, printing is part of the creative process. And so is colour repro.What do you think has been the biggest breakthrough in printing over the last 20 years?Control over repro (either by the designer or by the repro house) from the computer screen to the printing plate and then on to the printing machine. Colour management and press control on the most modern machines is amazing – craftsmanship plus technology.Do you have any printing disaster stories?Of course – I'm breaking into a cold sweat even as I type these words.Are there any recent innovations in print technology that you’re particularly excited about?Digital printing. Especially the HP Indigo 10,000. Short run printing has re-invented the world of binding and print finishing. Graphic design is coming to terms with understanding digital. Like the rest of the world.What’s the one printing innovation you’d most like to see happen?I just want simple things: no spots, no rubbing, black typeIs print dead, dying, undergoing a renaissance or something else?Not dead, but totally changing. Competition from other media is good; it forces you to question why you do what you do.What projects are you working on now that are exciting you?The next project is always the most exciting. A clean sheet of paper, some stuff to shape into something.Any predictions for the future of magazines?Beautiful, arresting objects for a more specialised audience. Better, more thoughtfully produced, less frequent. The world of illustrated books and magazines is converging.